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Raised in California and Hawaii, William Finnegan started surfing as a child. He has chased waves all over the world, wandering for years through the South Pacific, Australia, Asia and Africa. A bookish boy, and then an excessively adventurous young man, he went on to become a distinguished writer and war reporter. BARBARIAN DAYS takes us deep into unfamiliar worlds and immerses us in the edgy camaraderie of close male friendships annealed in challenging waves.

Stone Barrington isn’t one to turn away in the face of danger, so when he witnesses a tricky situation underway, he jumps in to lend a hand. He never expected, though, that this favor would lead to a mutually beneficial business deal with a prominent gentleman who requires the ever-discreet services of Woodman & Weld. But in the ruthless corporate world, no good deed goes unpunished, and Stone soon finds himself the target of a ragtag group of criminal toughs who don’t appreciate his interference in their dealings.

Quinn Colson has been voted out of office as sheriff of Tibbehah County, Mississippi, thanks to the machinations of county kingpin Johnny Stagg. He has offers, but before he goes, he has one more job to do --- bring down Stagg’s criminal operations for good. But in the middle of the long, hot summer, a trio of criminals stage a bold, wall-smashing break-in at the home of a local lumber mill owner, making off with a million dollars in cash from his safe, which is curious, because the mill owner is wealthy --- but not that wealthy.

Lawyer Andy Carpenter's true passion is the Tara Foundation, the dog rescue organization he runs with his friend, Willie Miller. So it's frightening when Willie calls him to say the alarm has gone off at the foundation building, and there's clearly been a break-in. It turns out that a recently rescued dog has been stolen. Andy and Willie track the missing dog to a house in downtown Paterson, New Jersey. Sure enough, they find the dog...standing right next to a dead body. Could it be a coincidence? Or could the dog theft somehow be connected to the killing?

Three very different people find themselves bound together by need and torn apart by blind obsessions and conflicting goals: Henry “Schuler” Jefferson, son of German immigrants from Midwestern farm country; Cora Rose Haviland, a young woman of privilege whose family has lost their fortune; and Charles “Gil” Gilchrist, an emotionally damaged WWI veteran pilot. Each one holds a secret that, if exposed, would destroy their friendship. But their journey of adventure and self-discovery has a price --- and one of them won’t be able to survive it.

Suleiman the Magnificent, the feared Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, issues an invitation to every king in Europe: You are invited to send your finest player to compete in a chess tournament to determine the champion of the known world. Thousands converge on Constantinople, including the English court’s champion and his guide, the esteemed scholar Roger Ascham. Seeing a chance to enlighten the mind of a student, Ascham brings along Elizabeth Tudor, a brilliant young woman not yet consumed by royal duties in Henry VIII’s court. On the opening night of the tournament, however, a powerful guest of the Sultan is murdered.

Georgia, Charlie and Alice each arrive at Harvard with hopeful visions of what the future will hold. But when a classmate is found murdered on campus just before graduation, they find themselves facing a cruel and unanticipated new reality. Moreover, a charismatic professor who has loomed large in their lives is suspected of the crime. Though his guilt or innocence remains uncertain, the unsettling questions raised by the case force the three friends to take a deeper look at their tangled relationship.

1883. Thaniel Steepleton returns home to his tiny London apartment to find a gold pocket watch on his pillow. Six months later, the mysterious timepiece saves his life, drawing him away from a blast that destroys Scotland Yard. At last, he goes in search of its maker, Keita Mori, a kind, lonely immigrant from Japan. Although Mori seems harmless, a chain of unexplainable events soon suggests he must be hiding something. When Grace Carrow, an Oxford physicist, unwittingly interferes, Thaniel is torn between opposing loyalties.

Bennington College, founded in 1932 as a suitable refuge for the wayward daughters of good families, maintains its saucy reputation for attracting free spirits. Cassandra Puffin and Sylvie Furst met in high school but cement what they ardently believe will be everlasting friendship on Bennington's idyllic Vermont campus. Graduation sees Sylvie moving to New York City, where, later on in their 20s, Cassandra joins her. These early, delirious years are spent decorating their Fort Greene apartment with flea market gems, dating "artists" and trying to figure out what they're doing with their lives.

Professional assassin John Lago and his former nemesis, Alice, execute a hostile takeover of Human Resources, Inc., the “placement agency” that trains young assassins to infiltrate corporations disguised as interns and knock off high-profile targets. As HR’s former top operatives, they are successful until conflicting management styles cause an ugly breakup that locks John out of the bedroom and the boardroom. But when Alice takes on a new HR target, John is forced to return to the office battlefield in a role he swore he would never play again: the intern.